26 and any who doth not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, speedily is judgment done upon him, whether to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of riches, and to bonds.'
`And these `are' the judgments which thou dost set before them: `When thou buyest a Hebrew servant -- six years he doth serve, and in the seventh he goeth out as a freeman for nought; if by himself he cometh in, by himself he goeth out; if he `is' owner of a wife, then his wife hath gone out with him; if his lord give to him a wife, and she hath borne to him sons or daughters -- the wife and her children are her lord's, and he goeth out by himself. `And if the servant really say: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons -- I do not go out free; then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him -- to the age. `And when a man selleth his daughter for a handmaid, she doth not go out according to the going out of the men-servants; if evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her. `And if to his son he betroth her, according to the right of daughters he doth to her. `If another `woman' he take for him, her food, her covering, and her habitation, he doth not withdraw; and if these three he do not to her, then she hath gone out for nought, without money. `He who smiteth a man so that he hath died, is certainly put to death; as to him who hath not laid wait, and God hath brought to his hand, I have even set for thee a place whither he doth flee. `And when a man doth presume against his neighbour to slay him with subtilty, from Mine altar thou dost take him to die. `And he who smiteth his father or his mother is certainly put to death. `And he who stealeth a man, and hath sold him, and he hath been found in his hand, is certainly put to death. `And he who is reviling his father or his mother is certainly put to death. `And when men contend, and a man hath smitten his neighbour with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but hath fallen on the bed; if he rise, and hath gone up and down without on his staff, then hath the smiter been acquitted; only his cessation he giveth, and he is thoroughly healed. `And when a man smiteth his man-servant or his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand -- he is certainly avenged; only if he remain a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he `is' his money. `And when men strive, and have smitten a pregnant woman, and her children have come out, and there is no mischief, he is certainly fined, as the husband of the woman doth lay upon him, and he hath given through the judges;
And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, `And unto the sons of Israel thou dost say, Any man of the sons of Israel, and of the sojourners who is sojourning in Israel, who giveth of his seed to the Molech, is certainly put to death; the people of the land do stone him with stones; and I -- I set My face against that man, and have cut him off from the midst of his people, for of his seed he hath given to the Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary, and to pollute My holy name. `And if the people of the land really hide their eyes from that man, in his giving of his seed to the Molech, so as not to put him to death, then I have set My face against that man, and against his family, and have cut him off, and all who are going a-whoring after him, even going a-whoring after the Molech, from the midst of their people. `And the person who turneth unto those having familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, to go a-whoring after them, I have even set My face against that person, and cut him off from the midst of his people. `And ye have sanctified yourselves, and ye have been holy, for I `am' Jehovah your God; and ye have kept My statutes and have done them; I `am' Jehovah, sanctifying you. `For any man who revileth his father and his mother is certainly put to death; his father and his mother he hath reviled: his blood `is' on him. `And a man who committeth adultery with a man's wife -- who committeth adultery with the wife of his neighbour -- the adulterer and the adulteress are surely put to death. `And a man who lieth with his father's wife -- the nakedness of his father he hath uncovered -- both of them are certainly put to death; their blood `is' on them. `And a man who lieth with his daughter-in-law -- both of them are certainly put to death; confusion they have made; their blood `is' on them. `And a man who lieth with a male as one lieth with a woman; abomination both of them have done; they are certainly put to death; their blood `is' on them. `And a man who taketh the woman and her mother -- it `is' wickedness; with fire they burn him and them, and there is no wickedness in your midst. `And a man who giveth his lying with a beast is certainly put to death, and the beast ye do slay. `And a woman who draweth near unto any beast to lie with it -- thou hast even slain the woman and the beast; they are certainly put to death; their blood `is' on them. `And a man who taketh his sister, a daughter of his father or daughter of his mother, and he hath seen her nakedness, and she seeth his nakedness: it is a shame; and they have been cut off before the eyes of the sons of their people; the nakedness of his sister he hath uncovered; his iniquity he beareth. `And a man who lieth with a sick woman, and hath uncovered her nakedness, her fountain he hath made bare, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood, -- even both of them have been cut off from the midst of their people. `And the nakedness of thy mother's sister, and of thy father's sister, thou dost not uncover; because his relation he hath made bare; their iniquity they bear. `And a man who lieth with his aunt, the nakedness of his uncle he hath uncovered; their sin they bear; childless they die. `And a man who taketh his brother's wife -- it `is' impurity; the nakedness of his brother he hath uncovered; childless they are. `And ye have kept all My statutes, and all My judgments, and have done them, and the land vomiteth you not out whither I am bringing you in to dwell in it; and ye walk not in the statutes of the nation which I am sending away from before you, for all these they have done, and I am wearied with them; and I say to you, Ye -- ye do possess their ground, and I -- I give it to you to possess it, a land flowing with milk and honey; I `am' Jehovah your God, who hath separated you from the peoples. `And ye have made separation between the pure beasts and the unclean, and between the unclean fowl and the pure, and ye do not make yourselves abominable by beast or by fowl, or by anything which creepeth `on' the ground which I have separated to you for unclean; and ye have been holy to Me; for holy `am' I, Jehovah; and I separate you from the peoples to become Mine. `And a man or woman -- when there is in them a familiar spirit, or who `are' wizards -- are certainly put to death; with stones they stone them; their blood `is' on them.'
`When there ariseth in your midst a prophet, or a dreamer of a dream, and he hath given unto thee a sign or wonder, and the sign and the wonder hath come which he hath spoken of unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods (which thou hast not known), and serve them, thou dost not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of the dream, for Jehovah your God is trying you, to know whether ye are loving Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul; after Jehovah your God ye walk, and Him ye fear, and His commands ye keep, and to His voice ye hearken, and Him ye serve, and to Him ye cleave. `And that prophet, or that dreamer of the dream, is put to death, for he hath spoken apostacy against Jehovah your God (who is bringing you out of the land of Egypt, and hath ransomed you out of a house of servants), to drive you out of the way in which Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee to walk, and thou hast put away the evil thing from thy midst. `When thy brother -- son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend who `is' as thine own soul -- doth move thee, in secret, saying, Let us go and serve other gods -- (which thou hast not known, thou and thy fathers, of the gods of the peoples who `are' round about you, who are near unto thee, or who are far off from thee, from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth) -- thou dost not consent to him, nor hearken unto him, nor doth thine eye have pity on him, nor dost thou spare, nor dost thou cover him over. `But thou dost surely kill him; thy hand is on him, in the first place, to put him to death, and the hand of all the people last; and thou hast stoned him with stones, and he hath died, for he hath sought to drive thee away from Jehovah thy God, who is bringing thee out of the land of Egypt, out of a house of servants; and all Israel do hear and fear, and add not to do like this evil thing in thy midst. `When thou hearest, in one of thy cities which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to dwell there, `one' saying, Men, sons of worthlessness, have gone out of thy midst, and they force away the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known -- and thou hast enquired, and searched, and asked diligently, and lo, truth; the thing is established; this abomination hath been done in thy midst: `Thou dost surely smite the inhabitants of that city by the mouth of the sword; devoting it, and all that `is' in it, even its cattle, by the mouth of the sword; and all its spoil thou dost gather unto the midst of its broad place, and hast burned with fire the city and all its spoil completely, before Jehovah thy God, and it hath been a heap age-during, it is not built any more; and there doth not cleave to thy hand any of the devoted thing, so that Jehovah doth turn back from the fierceness of His anger, and hath given to thee mercies, and loved thee, and multiplied thee, as He hath sworn to thy fathers, when thou dost hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep all his commands which I am commanding thee to-day, to do that which `is' right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.
Nebuchadnezzar hath answered and hath said, `Blessed `is' the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who hath sent His messenger, and hath delivered His servants who trusted on Him, and the word of the king changed, and gave up their bodies that they might not serve nor do obeisance to any god except to their own God. And by me a decree is made, that any people, nation, and language, that doth speak erroneously concerning the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, pieces he is made, and its house is made a dunghill, because that there is no other god who is able thus to deliver.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezra 7
Commentary on Ezra 7 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 7
Ezra's precious name saluted us, at first, in the title of the book, but in the history we have not met with it till this chapter introduces him into public action in another reign, that of Artaxerxes. Zerubbabel and Jeshua we will suppose, by this time, to have grown old, if not gone off; nor do we hear any more of Haggai and Zechariah; they have finished their testimony. What shall become of the cause of God and Israel when these useful instruments are laid aside? Trust God, who has the residue of the Spirit, to raise up others in their room. Ezra here, and Nehemiah in the next book, are as serviceable in their days as those were in theirs. Here is,
The next chapter will give us a more particular narrative of his associates, his journey, and his arrival at Jerusalem.
Ezr 7:1-10
Here is,
Ezr 7:11-26
We have here the commission which the Persian emperor granted to Ezra, giving him authority to act for the good of the Jews; and it is very ample and full, and beyond what could have been expected. The commission runs, we suppose, in the usual form: Artaxerxes, King of kings. This however is too high a title for any mortal man to assume; he was indeed king of some kings, but to speak as if he were king of all kings was to usurp his prerogative who hath all power both in heaven and in earth. He sends greeting to his trusty and well-beloved Ezra, whom he calls a scribe of the law of the God of heaven (v. 12), a title which (it seems by this) Ezra valued himself by, and desired no other, no, not when he was advanced to the proconsular dignity. He reckoned it more his honour to be a scribe of God's law than to be a peer or prince of the empire. Let us observe the articles of this commission.
Ezr 7:27-28
Ezra cannot proceed in his story without inserting his thankful acknowledgement of the goodness of God to him and his people in this matter. As soon as he has concluded the king's commission, instead of subjoining, God save the king (though that would have been proper enough), he adds, Blessed be the Lord; for we must in every thing give thanks, and, whatever occurrences please us, we must own God's hand in them, and praise his name. Two things Ezra blessed God for:-